Total visual success .... photo failure

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Well I'm back and I've stopped bouncing off the walls with excitement. Sort of. It's been a great two days where nearly everything went well, generally with only minutes to spare.

The car was packed on Monday. I snuck out an hour early yesterday, and ran into the Head on the way . Explained .. he was cool. Made a last minute decision to take a portable battery in case I couldn't have the scope near the car (eg in a park with trees). Made an adapter. We decided the weather would not be clear east of Yass and so booked a motel in Yass. Drive through filthy rain until Goulburn but then it lessened. Arrived 10pm. Messages to and fro with Peter about tomorrows plans - he is at his place in Bungonia and will be up at 4.30. Bed by 11.30, can't sleep for ages, up at 4.45.

It's clear - perfectly clear. Phone Peter, still cloud at Bungonia but maybe clearing. Too risky to go east (even though it would shorten the drive home) so we'll go west. I know Wallendbeen is usable so that's the go. Head off by 6. Still perfect conditions. Get to Binalong and discover that the park/sport field is suitable and so stop there - after all it's perfect here. Now seem to have extra time to set up. It evaporates. Last minute jobs (filter for telephoto lens). Technical hitch - power lead fuse blown. What fuse - ... spare??? OK cut wire .. strip ends .. attach to battery I nearly didn't take. Lucky.

Everyone at scopes with 5 minutes to spare. Perfect ingress. Great sight. File that one in the memory banks. Settle into looking periodically, have a cuppa and snacks. Entertain passers by. All good until 11 when Ray turns up and brings the clouds . Still get some views but it's getting worse. Some considerable periods of no sun. Consider moving but it's just too much work - take too long. About 30 minutes before egress conditions start to improve. It might happen. It did happen. Clear for egress. Great views. Yahoo yippee yahay. Pack up and head off. First spots of rain within 15 minutes. Rain on and off all the way home.

The photos are a fail, despite my wife's positive comments. The focus is soft and/or there is too much shake. I know I didn't decide to even try until Sunday but I still thought I'd do better. The positive of this is that I'm going to prepare much better for November.

Astronomy is great!!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Today will be remembered for a long long time won't it.

[ngcles]

Hi David jjj & All,

Well mine is a similar story save that I plumped for Goulburn that was, by dawn, about 90% clear. I went a bit down the road to Lake Bathurst and pulled off onto a dirt road and went up there about a km and had 360 deg almost perfectly flat horizons. Just missed out on first contact with a bank of cloud but nailed 2nd with the P.S.T. and saw the black-drop effect visually with a 9mm Type I Nagler at about x45.

Saw about about 90% of the next 3.5 hrs of transit (odd bits of cumulus rolling through) then a big bank of cloud filled the sky for about 30 mins so I decided to head somewhere else.

Drove up to Marulan 30km N of Goulburn (still cloudy) and had lunch. Started to clear shortly before 3rd & 4th contacts. Missed 3rd but saw the final egress (4th) between banks. So, all in all, I'm a happy camper. Even got to show a couple of old cow-cockys (who pulled up in a ute) Venus going across the Sun, though neither seemed to appreciate the significance. Pretty successful day I'd say.

It occurred to me later this afternoon that I had been very fortunate in this life to be admitted to a select group of people on this planet:
I am one of a very tiny number of people who have observed two (each) solar transits of three different solar-system bodies. I guess there isn't more than a couple of thousand people world-wide, probably far fewer actually, fortunate (read lucky) enough to have witnessed two transits of Mercury, two of Venus and two total solar eclipses.

Not something necessarily to be "proud-off" (there isn't a lot of skill involved except being in the right spot and looking in the direction of the Sun) but certainly very fortunate.

Best,

Les D